Page 38 of The Bratva's Innocent Bride

“Everything I told you about—botching the arms deal, kidnapping the wrong girl, that attack on our community, and the fact that I haven’t managed to stop Allard yet—I just feel like a failure.”

“Well,” I say, taking a breath, “how is the money looking?”

“What?”

“I’m in business school, Boris,” I laugh. “I can tell you this—the most important thing is the money. What does that look like?”

“Well, our profits are up 3%,” he says, “and the new bean laundering thing has reduced loss to police stops by 42%.”

“So, that’s what you focus on. Of course, you’re going to have some failure, you know. If this cousin of yours fails to see that you’re doing your job well, then he’s an idiot. It’s a waste of time to expect perfection.”

“Oh my god,” Boris says, reaching forward and clamping his hand over my mouth. “You did not just call Kervyn stupid.”

“And I’d do it again,” I try to say, but his hand muffles the words. When my tongue catches the sensitive skin on his palm, his eyes darken, and I feel my pulse quicken.

When he pulls me into his lap, I glance over my shoulder at the partition.

“Trained for discretion,” Boris growls while pulling my dress down, his fingers pinching one of my nipples. The feeling shoots straight to my core, and I fumble with his belt, trying to get him out.

“How long do we have?” I breathe, tossing my hair over my shoulder to give him better access to my chest. His mouth closes around my nipple, and I gasp, finally getting his zipper down and pulling out his cock, which is already hard.

“Long enough,” he says, his voice so low it’s barely audible. When I give his cock a few pumps with my hand, he rumbles a sound of approval deep in his throat and grips my hips, positioning me where he wants me.

When he slides inside me, it’s all delicious pressure.

I bury him inside me, grinding desperately inside him. His hands come to my back, pulling me closer, closer until there’s not a single atom of space between our bodies.

As I ride him, he thrusts up with his hips so the head of his cock hits my G-spot, making black dots appear in my vision. I come apart in minutes, and the second my walls squeeze around him, Boris follows, panting as he releases his seed inside me.

We’ve just finished cleaning up when we pull up outside the huge historical building where the rest of the Milov clan are mingling and drinking, waiting for us to arrive.

Chapter 17 - Boris

“Cousin!” of course, Kervyn is the first person I see when Fiona and I walk inside the grand building. Kervyn’s eyes dart between me and the woman on my arm, his eyebrows rising in question.

“Kervyn,” I say, clearing my throat. “Meet Fiona. My wife.”

Fiona glances at me sharply—this isn’t strictly the truth, but I can’t help but want Kervyn and the rest of them to respect me. This is how they went about acquiring their wives, and it would be endlessly embarrassing for them to know that I messed up even the simplest of tasks, like forcing a woman to marry me.

“Your wife?” someone says, appearing beside Kervyn.

“Fiona,” I say, “this is Penelope, Kervyn’s wife. Pen, this is Fiona, my wife.”

“Oh my god, Boris, you got married? And you didn’t tell anyone?” Pen moves forward, pushing right past Fiona’s outstretched hand and locking her into a big, Family hug. “Welcome to the family! Congratulations on being a Milov,” and then, quieter, but not quiet enough that Kervyn and I can’t hear it, “It’s a life sentence, you are aware?”

“Oh, shush,” Kervyn says, pulling Pen back. “Don’t scare her.”

“Trust me,” I cough, glancing at Fiona quickly and catching the little smile on her face. “There is not much that scares my girl.”

Still looking at Fiona, I catch the pleased flush that spreads over her face when I call her that. I file it away for later, reminding myself to say it more often if she’s going to have a reaction like that.

“Someone said you got married?” another voice adds to the commotion, and I look up to see Danil and his wife, Asher, joining the group. Asher squeals and wraps Fiona in a hug, in what I’m starting to suspect is just the first of many. Danil shakes my hand, congratulating me, before turning sharply.

“Jade!” he calls, “I told you to stay away from that cake!”

I expected it to be too much for her, but Fiona stayed gracious and calm through every single introduction, including Kervyn’s siblings, their partners, their children, and other ancillary family members who all migrated over to congratulate us on the union.

When Arina and the other women pull Fiona away, insisting they need time to gossip, I feel my entire body stiffen.

---